Maintaining the healthy growth and appearance of various plants, such as vegetables, herbs, grass, shrubs, trees and flowers require that they be periodically watered. When fertilizer is used in combination with the water the health, growth and appearance of the plants is greatly enhanced.
Fertilizer can be purchased as a liquid, a powder or in the form of a solid such as a tablet or pellets. The powdered fertilizer is typically spread by hand, or placed into a mechanical or electric spreader. The liquid fertilizer can be sprayed or placed into a container that is attached in-line with a watering hose. When water is flowing, the water stream causes a partial vacuum that sucks up the liquid fertilizer into the water stream.
The fertilizer tablets or pellets are typically applied by scattering them over the area surrounding the plants. After the area is watered the water causes the tablet or pellets to disintegrate, which in turn causes the chemical composition in the tablet or pellets to seep into the soil. The pellets or tablet can also be inserted into a container that is located in the path of the water stream, which causes the tablet or pellets to disintegrate into the water stream. The use of tablets or pellets has proven to be an economical, convenient and safe method for fertilizing plants.
Various designs of additive dispensers have been used to provide an effective means for dispensing water soluble chemicals such as fertilizer, insecticide, herbicide and the like in a lawn and sprinkler system. However, when compared to the instant invention, the prior art inventions are relatively complex, cumbersome to use and are not as cost effective as the instant invention.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any literature or patents that possess the novelty of the instant invention, however the following U.S. patents are considered related:
U.S. Pat. No.InventorIssue Date4,846,403MivelazJul. 11, 19894,898,202CraigFeb. 6, 19904,971,091HoNov. 20, 19905,178,181CraigJan. 12, 19935,666,987CombsSep. 16, 19976,173,732Davis et al.Jan. 16, 20017,690,392SarkissApr. 6, 2010
U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,403 issued to Mivelaz is for an automatic additive dispenser and system which includes a container attached to housing with a device to rupture a seal, thereby allowing the additive to enter a flow of water through the housing. Bottle additives are prevented from entering the system until the seal is ruptured.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,202 of Craig teaches an applicator for solid fertilizer that is suspended in a holder in a water pressurization chamber attached to a sprinkler line system. A diluted solution is passed into the sprinkler system for application to vegetation.
Ho in U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,091 discloses a dispenser for irrigation chemicals. The dispenser includes a vacuum breaker with two levels of valves for preventing backflow and permitting the dispensing of a chambered cartridge of chemicals into the water flow.
Craig in U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,181 teaches a fertilizer applicator that employs a container with internal inlet and outlet tubes. Water is fed through an inlet-outlet tube into the bottom of the container where a solid or liquid fertilizer is dissolved, thus forming a concentrate solution. The solution is diluted with water coming through an inlet-outlet tube, which includes a venturi, the size of which controls the flow rate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,987 issued to Combs is for a device that disperses solid, powder, or a tablet of a liquid of chemicals into a pressurized liquid stream that for treats living or growing vegetation. The device includes an upright vertical cylindrical container having internal screens.
Davis, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,173,732 teaches a chemical feeding system for adding liquid or water soluble solid chemicals to a lawn sprinkler system, either above or below ground level. The system has one or two vertically oriented mixing chambers containing a filter.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,690,392 issued to Sarkiss discloses a mixing body for diverting a portion of liquid into a cartridge of chemical, thereby forming an effluent that is introduced into a water flow downstream within a sprinkler system. The cartridge, which contains a liquid concentrate, is inserted into the mixing body, which as an inlet and outlet with one way valves that puncture a sealing layer of the cartridge. The effluent can be regulated by a needle valve that controls the volume.
For background purposes and as indicative of the art to which the invention is related, reference may be made to the remaining cited patents issued to Gertie in U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,364 and Palmer in U.S. Pat. No. 6,969,011.